Broken Wrath
by Jazzeegirl
Summary: After Fang gives Max devastating news, she is shattered inside. But, being Max, her brokenness comes along with another emotion. Insatiable fury. She burns with anger at the world, the injustice, the cruelty. When the School offers her a chance to inflict the same pain on Fang that he inflicted on her, how can she refuse?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there! So I just had this idea and wanted to write it. So here we are! The ages of the flock in this are: Max-15, Fang-15, Iggy-15, Nudge-12, Gazzy-9, Angel-7. Please tell me if I got any of the age gaps wrong.**

**Disclaimer: I am not a man so I do not own Maximum Ride.**

**Claimer: I do own my OCs and the plot.**

**Chapter 1-Shattered**

I stared into his soft ebony eyes, leaning closer as I fell into their endless depths. I closed my eyes, readying myself for the kiss that would surely come. This time I was determined to stay and enjoy his company instead of running away like an idiot.

The kiss never arrived. Actually, what I did receive was a gentle yet firm push on the shoulders.

"Max. I can't do this anymore," Fang ran a hand through his messy coal-black hair, his eyebrows drawn together in a frown.

My mouth puckered like a gaping fish. All I could sputter out in my confusion was an incoherent, "Wha'?"

Smooth, Max, smooth.

"I can't pretend to love you. It wouldn't be right. I just don't feel it anymore," Fang stated simply. For a man of few words he sure knew how to choose the exact words to break a girl's heart.

A single tear leaked out of my eye before I even registered his words. My heart had known before my brain that our connection from before had crumbled, leaving me with only a thin strand of friendship.

"You-you mean all those times you've told me you loved me were fake?" I asked, my voice small and pathetic. My instincts were ordering me to beat him up for making me hurt but I knew that whaling on people wasn't the best way to deal with problems.

"No, Max. I never wanted to hurt you. The first few times were totally ture. And I still do love you. Just no in the same way," his gaze was concerned. I couldn't believe how much he was talking. All this time, I've thought he just wasn't good with words. But he is in reality very eloquent and just chose to bottle it in. Liar.

If he didn't want me to hurt, why was he doing this? "Fine," I snapped, using anger to shield my woe. "I don't care." Fang flinched away from my glare, a red tint flushing his cheeks. Finally, some true emotion.

"It doesn't have to be this way!" he argued. His voice was slightly high and nasally. How could I have ever thought it was attractive? "We can still be friends."

"Friends?" I spat at him, rage lacing the words. Just leave now, I silently begged. Before the slash in my heart opens to a yawning canyon. "After all we've been through, you come up to me and say, 'Max, I'm dumping you. Sorry. We can still be friends.'" I forced all the sarcasm I could into that sentence. "You know what? You can't control me. I don't want to be friends. We're over-forever." Without even glancing at Fang's tan face, I whipped out my wings and took off from a standstill with a single powerful downthrust.

Once I was safely away from him, I allowed the tears to stream down my face. The salty, bitter taste of my sadness remained on my tongue long after the wind had dried my face.

I finally landed after my wings were burning from overuse. Numb now, I curled into fetal position and lay there in the muggy night. I didn't know where I was; the only thought that pierced my blurry fog of grief was to distance myself from him as much as possible.

Nudge's mocha face appeared in my mind, her chocolatey eyes dancing with amusement. "You're in love," she teased me. The memory echoed over and over again, pounding against my skull to create a searing headache.

Before long her voice was paired with Angel's, then Gazzy's and Iggy's. Their chant became louder and louder, drowning out any discernible thoughts I had left.

_What's happening?_ I frantically shook my head as if I could just shake off the words.

**_Max, calm down. You're going into shock._** It was the Voice.

_Go away!_ I mentally moaned, too panicked to even give my mind's voice any bitterness.

**_Take deep breaths._**

Despite my distrust of the Voice, I drew in a long breath through my nose, then out my mouth and repeated the exercise. Soon, my heartbeat slowed and my brain was functioning again.

_I can't go back,_ I realized. Fang didn't want me. I didn't want him. The rest of the flock would be devastated but they would cope.

This is insane. Of course I'm going back. Before I could start arguing with myself, I allowed my battered spirit to surrender to sleep.

**How'd you like it? Tell me in a review! I'm going to try and update once a week but I have spotty computer access so we'll see.**

**Quesiton of the Update: Do you ship Fax, Mylan, or any other Max/someone pairing?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter!**

**disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride**

**Chapter 2**

I felt horrible when I woke up the next day. My eyes were scratchy and crusty from crying, my lips were blistered, my throat burned from need of water, and my whole body ached like it had been trampled by a herd of elephants in cleats then thrown off a cliff onto a bed of stones.

I guess that's what hearbreak does to you.

Even though I hurt all over, I forced myself to stand and survey the place I had crashed for the night.

The dead-looking grass was flattened where I had slept but there were no other indicatons that anyone had been here. Trees encompassed the clearing like a ring of sentinels watching over me. My guardian angels.

Okay, now I'm just getting sentimental.

**_Think, Max,_**the Voice injected.

_About what? _I dryly asked.

_**What happened last night. **_Thanks for reminding me. I was actually kind of happy.

**_You need to go back._**

_Yeah, yeah, yeah. _I answered. _No need to reopen my wounds._ I can't go see him. Not yet. It'll hurt.

_**Now, Maximum,**_the Voice ordered. I heaved a sigh. Maybe I should listen. The rest of the flock needed me. Except for the jerk, I loved them all.

_I'm going, _I groaned as I spread my sore wings. With a running start, I took off and within seconds was above the treetops. Their leaves were orange, scarlet, and golden, the colors of fire. Fang would be getting fire from me later. All fire, no water. When you play with me (fire), you get burned. Life lesson to all you kids out there.

Time skip

I landed on the springy grass near our most recent safehouse. Steeling my emotions, I knocked, then walked right in after I realized how foolish that was. They probably didn't even know I had left. I do have a tendency to oversleep.

The delicious, mouthwatering scent of chocolate chip cookies caught my attention and I wandered into the kitchen in a sort of trance.

Iggy stood there, Ella wrapped in his arms. Alarm bells clanged in my head. What if he hurt her like Fang hurt me? She would be devastated!

My older sister protectiveness, which had been dormant around the couple forever, kicked in. "Iggy! Get away from my sister!" I screeched. My voice must have contained all the pentup anger and sense of abandonment that I was feeling because Iggy fled. But he managed to cast a vexed look in my general direction.

"Max! What's wrong with you? Our relationship was finally moving in the right direction and you just chased Iggy away!" Ella snapped, hands on her hips. Her eyes glinted with the same ruthless determination I possessed.

"I-I'm sorry. I just don't want him to hurt you," I looked at my feet, my emotions threatening to break their cage.

"Max, did something happen?" Ella's voice was gentler now. She could easily see what a wreck I was. I mean, it wasn't hard to miss. My eyes were crazed, my skin looked sickly, and my hair was tangled into a horrific mess.

All of a sudden I was in tears and Ella was hugging me and rubbing my back. Where fang used to tenderly place his hand. That thought inspired a fresh wave of sadness. I could feel the stares of the flock on my back. Their confusion was almost tangible until Angel whispered the situation after reading my mind.

I didn't want to talk to them right now. Especially not if the jerk was with them.

"Come on, Max. We can talk in your room." Ella slipped her arms off me and grasped my hand.

"Hang on a minute. What's happening?" The jerk walked in to be greeted by my glare and everyone else's baffled expressions. Though most of the flock knew what to occurred, they were in the dark as to why I was such a wreck. I hoped they would never have to experience the pain I was going through.

"I think you know perfectly well what's going on," I spat, my voice making the emotionless rock actually flinch.

"Max, I didn't want it to be this way," Fang tentatively gripped my hand and gave it a little squeeze. It wasn't an intimate gesture; on the contrary, it was simply a peace offering. He had no desire to be with me anymore. I ripped my hand away from his, ignoring the hurt that showed in his dark eyes. Just the fact that he was showing emotion for me made me want to tease him but that would make him feel like I had forgiven him and I sure as heck hadn't.

"Maybe you should've thought of that before dumping me," I growled.

Fang cast an ashamed glance in the flock's direction. "We should talk in private."

"No," I adamantly stomped my foot. If he was embarassed, that was his fault.

"Max," the jerk had the audacity to plead to me. He pointed at Angel. "She's too young to experience our argument."

"She already knows everything," Turning on my heel, I shoved past the flock and ran to my room. Once there, my tears flooded over once again. Honestly, I was surprised that I had been able to confront Fang without cracking. I should puruse an acting career.

"Max, are you okay?" my mom, who must have been informed by the flock of my predicament, nudged open the door.

"What do you think?" I snapped, hardly able to see through the blur of tears.

"Max," my mom warned. Even though I had been my own leader for my whole life, she expected me to submit to her like every other child submits to his or her parents.

"Mom," I mimicked her. My tears were beginning to dry but the grief was still raw in my mind.

"Don't speak to me in that tone of-" My mom's scolding was cut short by a scream of "Max!"

People are just loving my name today.

I jumped into action, pushing aside my emotions. When I rushed downstairs, there was no one left in the kitchen. Shouts came from outside and I barged through the door.

I had been expecting the worst but I certainly hadn't expected this.

**And another chapter is done! Frankly, I'm surprised I actually updated in about a week. So how was the chapter? Review, please! It makes my day!**

**QOTU (quesiton of the update): What is your favorite book in the Maximum Ride series? Mine is probably the first one.**

**-Jazzee**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for not updating! I had exams and I was studying...I hope I did good. Thanks for all the reviews/favorites/follows! I love hearing from you!**

**Disclaimer: I am not James Patterson. I am pretty much the exact opposite. If I owned the series, there would have been some major changes.**

**Chapter 3**

My flock was fighting other mutants. But they weren't Erasers. They were…other birdkids. Through the whirlwind of fighting, I thought I saw about five or six of them. My astonishment didn't hinder me from defending my flocks.

I launched myself at the nearest enemy, a deathly pale boy, who was creeping up behind Iggy. I latched onto his back and flapped my wings, dragging him backwards.

He writhed in my grip, shaking me off, and whirled to face me. He didn't immediately attack me like I expected. Instead he smiled, actually smiled, and called, "Guys, I found her!"

Narrowing my eyes, I punched the kid in the stomach and then brought my leg up to kick the side of his head while he was doubled over, causing him to stumble sideways.

Before I could make another move, the cold feeling of a gun pressed to the back of my head that I was all too familiar with halted me.

"Turn around slowly," a voice ordered. It was young but it held the darkness of too many scarring experiences. The kid holding the gun looked to be a little older than Gazzy. His features were completely relaxed and his finger toyed with the trigger as if holding a gun was second nature to him. "Nobody move a muscle," he said in that same precise, sullen voice. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nudge freeze as a small girl roughly grabbed her arm.

"Max, you're going to step away from your flock," the boy ordered. When I didn't move immediately, he took a step forward and pressed the gun to my forehead.

I considered staying were I was. I didn't have anything left to live for. Fang broke my heart and he didn't even care. The flock was old enough to survive on their own. I had taught them to handle themselves. No one would miss me.

**_Max, move from the flock._**_**Now, **_the Voice ordered. It held more emotion than ever before. Fear, anger, strange satisfaction.

Only because the Voice was so emotional did I take four steps towards the open field, away from my family. Maybe I could just give myself up to the other birdkids. They obviously worked for the School. And if the School had me, they wouldn't come after my flock.

"That's it," the boy smirked. It was a grown up smirk that didn't belong on a kid's face. What had the School done to him? "Max, I'm going to ask you a question. Your answer will determine if your flock lives or not," the boy said. His friends all pulled out guns and pointed them menacingly at my flock. The looks on my family's faces made me want to rip out the boy's throat and spear him in the stomach with a pointy stick. What can I say? Mama Bear is violent.

"So what's the question?" I asked sweetly. I'm nothing if I'm not a good actor.

"Will we have to drag you kicking or screaming to the School or will you come willingly?" the boy asked.

One of the his flock, a tall girl with dirty blonde girl, said, "Cam, this is Max you're talking about. The legend never comes obediently."

Maybe it was the girl stereotyping me. Maybe it was Cam's hungry look, like he was eager to bring me to the School tied up like a prisoner. I wasn't sure what made me do it but I swallowed the smart answer on the tip of my tongue. Instead, I gazed at each member of my flock. I needed a fresh start, away from Fang, away from expectations. Maybe the School would leave the flock alone if I submitted to them.

"The latter," I said. Shock flashed across everyone's faces, coupled with other varying feelings. Angel was understanding from reading my mind. Nudge was hurt. Iggy was bitter. Gazzy was lost and confused. And Fang…well, I couldn't really read Fang. His emotions were behind a wall like they used to be before we became close.

"Oh," Cam smiled in pleasant surprise. "Then come with me." He walked around the back of the house. Through the window I could see my mom and Ella being held by two armed men.

"Will you leave everyone alone if I come?" I demanded.

Cam laughed. "Maybe, maybe not. I guess we'll see."

The kid disturbed me. He seemed so sadistic and cruel. My hatred for the School deepened, if that was even possible. They had transformed a 10-year-old into a monster.

A van was parked behind our house along with two black Subaru's. Cliché much?

Cam knocked on the van's back doors. A woman opened them, a crazy grin on her face. She was the perfect definition of a mad scientist: wild silver hair, blue eyes sparking with an insane gleam, and a rumpled lab coat. "She came willingly?" she asked.

I scowled and butted in before Cam could answer. "Yes, _I _came willingly." If there was one thing that irked me most, it was when people talked about me as if I wasn't there.

"You know what to do, Violet," Cam said. Someone was acting like Mr. Bossypants. How did a 10-year-old come to be in charge anyway?

Violet dragged me into the van. As the door closed, I heard Cam say into his walkie talkie, "Knock 'em out."

My stomach dropped. As Violet fastened my wrists and ankles to a seat, I wondered if the flock felt as betrayed by me as I felt by Fang. I was doing this for them.

Light footsteps pattered outside the van. Cam's flock trundled into the van and scattered in various positions around me, all looking satisfied with the outcome of their work. I fixed a glare on my face to keep them from talking to me. The van skidded away.

As we drove onto the road, I glimpsed the front yard. On it, the prone figures of my flock lay, unconscious. Would they search for me when they woke up? Or would they decide it was futile?

Even though my glare was plastered to my face, on the inside I was more sad than angry. Sure, I had my characteristic sliver of fury, but the sadness overtook it. I was headed back to the School, where my nightmare of a life had begun. No one was there to save me. I was alone.

**I hope you liked it! Read and review! Please! QOTU: Which character is your favorite all-around character? Mine's gotta be Total, but Max and Iggy tie for second.**

**-Jazzee**


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